Sunday, May 24, 2009

Gnocchi with Red Pepper Sauce

My lemon basil gnocchi was tasty, but I ate all the veggies before I could make more, so I decided to get right into the roasted red pepper sauce. I made a roux with cream and flour, then added some milk. I did not add enough cream, so it was kind of lumpy, but it turned out okay. Then I pureed a roasted red pepper and threw it in, pressed a clove of garlic, added a frozen basil cube (from Trader Joe's), and it tasted... bland. Oh, I'm supposed to add salt... added salt and pepper, then it tasted salty and bland. So I threw two more cloves of garlic, another pureed pepper, some cayenne pepper powder, another basil cube, but it still tasted like it was missing something. The something was probably white wine, but I do not have the money to buy wine, so I just dealt with it, added some fresh spinach and (al dente) steamed asparagus, and poured it over the gnocchi and it was actually pretty good. The light, vague lemony flavor of the gnocchi complemented the sauce well (so on it's own, it needed some sort of tart/acid flavor, like wine) and almost made eating asparagus tolerable :-P. It still could have used more garlic and/or onions though. Oh well, I got two tasty dinners out of it.

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About Me

Being a grad student gives me some cooking challenges that aren't usually tackled by any sorts of culinary advice columns. I cook for one and have limited freezer space. I'm on a budget, but I don't want to eat like a college student (while I love pasta and eggs, I don't want to eat them for every meal). I like to get creative with what I cook, but often find myself sticking by old staples. I also work very hard to eat healthy, balanced meals, but this too can be hard with a crowded refrigerator.
On the other hand, I do other things. One important one is study. I've created a second blog for my own purposes of learning algebraic geometry and topology as well as the material that will be on my comprehensive exams. You probably don't want to read this one and I don't blame you.